Ready Player One UA

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Synopsis

Hypnotic immersive entertainment at its best, Ready Player One is classic Spielberg returning to his top form. A Sci-fi film with a heart, not once does Spielberg’s passion for creating spectacular cinematic movie-going experience, overshadow his story’s underlying message – technology can never replace human emotions.

Ready Player One Movie Review

Story: Based on the dystopian science-fiction novel by Ernest Cline, ‘Ready Player One’ is set in 2045, when people seek solace in a virtual reality world known as the ‘OASIS’ to escape their desolation. Founded by the late James Halliday (Mark Rylance), the game gives them an illusion of leading better lives instantly. Once they discover that the creator has buried an Easter egg inside the virtual-reality world, promising his fortune to whoever finds it, the treasure hunt begins. Teenager Wade Watts’ (Tye Sheridan) leads the race until his quest is disrupted by a new corporation — Innovative Online Industries (IOI), who wish to put an end to OASIS.

Review: Wade Watts aka Parzival (his virtual avatar) is supported by his Gunter (egg hunter) friends from the OASIS like Art3mis aka Samantha (Olivia Cooke) and Aech (Lena Waithe), who help him dodge IOI CEO, Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn). Hypnotic immersive entertainment at its best, Ready Player One is classic Spielberg returning to his top form. The sci-fi adventure marks the legend’s spectacular comeback to a genre (sci-fi) that recognises him as one of its pioneering forces. The filmmaker’s astute craftsmanship and ability to seamlessly blend humanism, reality and fiction like no one else, is astounding.

Every common man desires to see himself as a superhero someday. We foolishly hope that our problems may miraculously disappear if we overlook them. Social media is the new-age balm that distracts us from our real woes. The digital world has a way of making you feel worthy. Spielberg’s screen adaptation of Cline’s fantasy novel that thrives on fanboy culture and nostalgia, is perhaps the most hard-hitting fictional account that mirrors reality. The film’s teenage protagonist Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) mentions how humans have learnt to ‘outlive their problems’ in 2045, having found solace in Oasis instead. This escapism leaves you shaken given our extreme reliance on technology and the digital world, today!

The visionary director’s remarkable quality of offering out-and-out blockbuster spectacle without compromising on the story’s relevance and human emotions continues to set him apart. Though the execution is futuristic, he moulds the 80’s pop culture references in it, while simultaneously making a social commentary on our existing scenario, thus weaving the past, present and future together in the most distinctive fashion. Acting powerhouses like Mark Rylance and Simon Pegg’s enigmatic presence further warms your heart.

Throughout its two and a half hours runtime, the master storyteller transports you to a world of fantasy that bears an uncanny resemblance to the world we live in today. Corporatisation, nostalgia, relationships in times of digitalisation and underneath all of that, the classic good vs bad and underdog vs mighty, age-old battle — Ready Player One is much more than the engrossing treasure hunt you believe it is. A Sci-fi film with a heart, it revolves around true love, friendship and loyalty. Not once does Spielberg’s passion for creating spectacular cinematic movie-going experience, overshadow his story’s underlying message – technology can never replace human emotions. It cleverly drives home the point that one must face reality, no matter how grim and unappealing it may seem when compared to the magical virtual world, as ‘that’s the only thing that’s real’. Buckle up and set off on this absolutely thrilling ride.

PS: Watch the film in Imax 3D to experience the ultimate immersive entertainment you desire from it.

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